Dragon continues to extend its scintillating line of Japanese subjects in its 1/72 scale model kit collection. The latest item is a Type 4 “Ke-Nu” light tank. It isn’t as well known as the Type 95 “Ha-Go” or Type 97 “Chi-Ha”, although in actual fact it was a hybrid formed from these two tank designs. When operations in Manchuria and Russia revealed that the performance of the low-velocity 57mm anti-tank gun of the Type 97 was inadequate, it was replaced with a 45mm gun to create the Shinhoto Type 97. Some of the original and now obsolete turrets mounting the 57mm gun were then retrofitted onto the Type 95 Ha-Go. The resulting hybrid was known as the Type 4 Ke-Nu, and just 100 vehicles were created in 1944. As such, the Type 4 came too late to have any significant impact on the war, and most vehicles were retained to protect the Japanese homeland from the expected Allied invasion.

Dragon has previously released both the Japanese Type 95 and Type 97 tanks as 1/72 scale plastic kits, but here the designers have done much more than simply plonk an old Chi-Ha turret onto an original Ha-Go chassis. In fact, this kit required a completely new upper hull to accommodate the larger turret ring of the Type 97 turret. Details on this model are exquisite. Indeed, although small in stature, this model of a rare Japanese tank is extremely well refined, and it would make a unique contribution to any Japanese WWII model tank collection.